So, you want to lay track…

We will be touching on:

• Planning (briefly as this is a topic by itself)

• Roadbed

• Laying track

• Ballasting track

• Soldering track wires

• Trouble shooting track problems

• Adding small details

• Cleaning up

Planning

What you will need:

• Define what you want to do

• Building new or re-vamping existing track work

• Make a to-scale track diagram

• Gather all the track components needed

• Create a track wiring plan (save this for future reference!)

Materials

Materials used to lay track:

• Sub-roadbed- plywood, spline

• Roadbed- cork, Homabed, Woodland Scenics

• Track- flex track, snap track, rail and wood ties

• Track nails or spikes

• Rail joiners- solid or insulated

• Ballast

• Light oil

• Glue- white glue (“wet water”)

• Track feeder wire

• Rosin core solder

• Paint- rust color

Standards…They work

NMRA has developed

Standards for track and

wheels that allow

interchange of products

across all manufacturer's

products.

National Model Railroad Association Standards and Recommended Practices can be

found at: http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/consist.html

This STANDARD lists Track Center Distances and provides for Side Clearances

required for various curvatures with three size categories of models.

• Class II - Includes small four-wheel truck diesels, geared and other small steam

locomotives with short end overhangs typical of old-time, logging and branch

lines and equivalent rolling stock.

• Class I - Includes longer steam locomotives typically with two-wheel trailing

trucks, larger four and six-wheel truck diesels and equivalent rolling stock.

• Class Ia - Includes the largest steam locomotives with four-wheel trailing trucks,

articulated locomotives, those with rigid wheelbases in excess of 20 feet, full

length passenger cars and other long rolling stock.

Layouts constructed to one of these classes should accept models of its own and

smaller classes, but larger models can expect clearance problems on a layout built

to a smaller classification. See STANDARD S-7 and RP-11.

NMRA Standard S-8

TRACK CENTERS in CURVES - 'HO' Scale

Radius-

Inches Tang. 158 79 53 40 32 26 1/2 23 20 18

Class II 2 1/16 1 13/16 1 13/16 1 13/16 1 7/8 1 15/16 2 2 1/16 2 3/32 2 1/8 2 3/16

Class I 2 1/16 1 13/16 1 7/8 1 15/16 2 2 1/16 2 1/8 2 3/16 2 5/16 See note 8

Class Ia 2 1/16 1 13/16 1 31/32 2 1/8 2 1/4 2 3/8 2 1/2 See note 8

Pssssst……use 2 inch centers

NMRA Recommended Practices RP-11

Class: M

Diesel Locos to 60’ long with two four-wheel trucks, suburban, postal

and baggage cars to 60’ with diaphragms, standard cars to 50’ long with

regular couplers or with cushion under frames and regular couplers

HO Scale

• Minimum turnout #6

• Minimum radius 23”

In “real life” these HO Scale standards and practices are boiled down to:

• Broad curve 30” radius and #6 or #8 turnouts

• Conventional curve 24” radius and #5 or #6 turnouts

• Sharp curve 18” radius and #4 turnouts

Allow enough space

When laying out the track location check on how much space is needed and

how much clearance from the track is needed.

Let’s get to Laying some track!

Things that need to be done BEFORE flopping that bundle of flex track on

the bench work:

• Sub-roadbed is down- plywood table top, plywood cookie cutter, spline

construction

• Track center lines are drawn

• Turnout locations are marked

Roadbed

Roadbed comes in

two pieces that need

to be separated

Using the track

center line glue

roadbed to sub-

roadbed

Use small nails or

tee pins to hold

roadbed in place.

Note staggered

joints.

Commercial switch

blocks are available

or you can make your

own.

Laying Track

Ballasting Track

Ballasting Track

Note different colors of ballast used to represent different types of track

or different railroads.

Arrival and

departure

tracks

Central

Vermont track

Yard track

Troubleshooting track problems

Track joint forced into a too tight

radius. Note open joint. Rail joiner misaligned. Rail

has slide over joiner.

Push rails together in the

joiners tightly on curves. Solder

these joints.

Leave small gaps in straight

track to allow for expansion

and contraction

Add some details

Cleaning up

After the track has been completed and the ballast has dried the

next steps will to be to test all the work that has been done.

The track must be cleaned (remember all the wet glue you used?).

A Bright Boy track eraser can be used to scrub the residue off the

top of the railhead.

Now that you have soaked the turnouts with water and white glue

don’t forget to get them un-stuck ! Now you know what the light

oil was for…..grins

Remember to always watch your signals !

(that is because the dispatcher gave you clearance only to the next signal)